MY 50 FAVORITE TV SHOWS - 41-50

I will be counting down my favorite TV shows from number 50 to number 1 in groups of ten.  Here are the first ten (Mostly comedies but don't worry the dramas are coming)….

50.) THE MONKEES – Surreal, kooky perhaps a bit dated in terms of style but the music and some of the jokes hold up. 

49.) I DREAM OF JEANNIE – Writing isn't everything in a sitcom. Casting is also important and this was just the right ensemble.  Barbara Eden was the focus of my schoolboy crush.

48.) BARNEY MILLER – Another great ensemble show featuring the humanization of cops and a fantastic cast.

47.)SOAP- Fabulous parody of soap operas….Insane plots….Richard Mulligan in particular stood out.

46.) ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT – The Bluth family is one of the greatest comic creations in TV history.

45.) THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW – Really picked up once Tim Conway joined….Harvey Koreman’s crack-ups were the best.

44.) LOST IN SPACE – You can have Star Trek.  This show with its totally absurd plots and creatures was better.  Dr. Smith is one of the greatest characters in TV history. 

43.) MISTER ED – What made this show great wasn’t the premise but what they did with it.  Mr. Ed was like Satan and he tormented poor Wilbur.   

42.) THE ADDAMS FAMILY – This show perfectly captured the offbeat humor of Charles Addams' cartoons.  Again, casting helped.

41.) THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – The sitcom as arbiter of hipness, Mary Tyler Moore as fashionista.  What I notice about this show now is that Dick Van Dyke wasn’t only a straight man he was often the focus of the humor.